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HELPFUL THOUGHTS 

FROM 

MARCUS AURELIUS 



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II E L P F U L THO U GHTS 

FROM THE MEDITATIONS 

OF MARCUS AURELIUS 

ANTONINUS 



SELECTED 
BY WALTER LEE BROWN 



"live as on a mountain." 

M. A. A. 



CHICAGO 

A. C. McCLURG & COMPANY 

MDCCCCII 



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COPYRIGHT, A. C. McCLURG & CO., 1902 



PUBLISHED MARCH, 1902 



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D. B. UPDIKE, THE MERRYMOUNT PRESS, BOSTON 



Foreword 

J. HERE have been several books of selec- 
tions from the "Meditations of Marcus Au- 
relius Antoninus." Apparently the first one 
to appear was that of N. Swayne, Stourport 
(England), no date, but probably 1811. It 
contains a small part only of the "Medita- 
tions." The next in point of time was that 
of Mary W. Tileston, first issued in Boston, 
1876, and its popularity is shown by the fact 
that editions have been printed almost every 
year since. In 1888, Sara Carr Upton printed, 
by use of the Mergenthaler linotypes, New 
York, a pamphlet with selections for every 
day in the year. This is now so rare that it 
can have made but little impression on the 



FOREWORD 



public. Finally, Benjamin E. Smith, New 
York, in 1899, put forth a small volume of 
selections, and there the list ends. 

All of the above are based practically upon 
one idea: to give in a more or less concen- 
trated form the entire scope of the good 
Emperor's thoughts. 

In this work, I reverse the proceedings, 
and make the point of view myself: that is 
to say, I give those thoughts which have 
helped me, regardless of whether they in- 
cluded all the kinds of advice given by 
Antoninus. This might, at first sight, be 
thought to indicate a very narrow bias in the 
selecting. But I cannot think so: the selec- 
tion may — indeed must, by its very nature 
— be arbitrary, but any one who lives up to 
the broad and high level of the thoughts on 
the following pages, will be a very worthy 
companion to him who was certainly the 



FOREWORD 



noblest and wisest of Emperors, even if not 
the best of mortal men. 

He taught men to endure : would that he 
could have shown them how to cure the ills 
by which mortality believes it is beset. 

Walter Lee Brown 



February 1, 1902. 



1 HE translation drawn upon in these selections is 
that of George Long, used simply because it is the 
best known, for there are a number of good transla- 
tions extant, from the quaint diction of Metric Ca- 
saubon, 1634, to the scholarly production of Gerald 
Henry Rendall, 189S. In the selections, the italics 
my own. 

W. L. B. 



JT OR a man's greatness lies not in wealth 
and station, as the vulgar believe, nor yet in 
his intellectual capacity, which is often asso- 
ciated with the meanest moral character, 
the most abject servility to those in high 
places and arrogance to the poor and lowly; 
but a mans true greatness lies in the conscious- 
ness of an honest purpose in life, founded on a 
just estimate of himself and everything else, 
on frequent self-examination, and a steady obe- 
dience to the rule which he knows to be 
right, without troubling himself as the em- 
peror says he should not, about what others 
may think or say, or whether they do or do 
not do that which he thinks and says and 
does. 

FROM THE LIFE OF MARCUS AURELIUS ANTONINUS 
BY GEORGE LONG 



HELPFUL THOUGHTS 



In Praise of his Adopted Father 

AN my father I observed mildness of temper, and 
unchangeable resolution in the things which he 
had determined after due deliberation; and no 
vainglory in those things which men call honors ; 
and a love of labor and perseverance ; and a readi- 
ness to listen to those who had anything to propose 
for the common weal ; and undeviating firmness in 
giving to every man according to his deserts ; and 
a knowledge derived from experience of the occa- 
sions for vigorous action and for remission. And 
he considered himself no more than any other citi- 
zen; and he released his friends from all obliga- 
tion to sup with him or to attend him of necessity 
when he went abroad, and those who had failed to 
accompany him, by reason of any urgent circum- 
stances, always found him the same. I observed 
too his habit of careful inquiry in all matters of de- 
liberation, and his persistency, and that he never 



17 



MARCUS AURELIUS 



stopped his investigation through being satisfied 
with appearances which first present themselves; 
and that his disposition was to keep his friends, 
and not to be soon tired of them, nor yet to be 
extravagant in his affection ; and to be satisfied on 
all occasions, and cheerful ; and to foresee things 
a long way off, and to provide for the smallest 
without display ; and to check immediately popu- 
lar applause and all flattery ; and to be ever watch- 
ful over the things which were necessary for the 
administration of the empire, and to be a good 
manager of the expenditure, and patiently to en- 
dure the blame which he got for such conduct; 
and he was neither superstitious with respect to 
the gods, nor did he court men by gifts or by try- 
ing to please them, or by flattering the populace ; 
but he showed sobriety in all things and firmness, 
and never any mean thoughts or action, nor love 
of novelty. And the things which conduce in any 
way to the commodity of life, and of which fortune 
gives an abundant supply, he used without arro- 
gance and without excusing himself; so that when 
he had them, he enjoyed them without affectation, 



19 



MARCUS AURELIUS 



and when he had them not, he did not want them. 
No one could ever say of him that he was either a 
sophist or a [home-bred] flippant slave or a pedant ; 
but every one acknowledged him to be a man ripe, 
perfect, above flattery, able to manage his own 
and other men's affairs. Besides this, he honored 
those who were true philosophers, and he did not 
reproach those who pretended to be philosophers, 
nor yet was he easily led by them. He was also 
easy in conversation, and he made himself agree- 
able without any offensive affectation. He took a 
reasonable care of his body's health, not as one who 
was greatly attached to life, nor out of regard to 
personal appearance, nor yet in a careless way, but 
so that, through his own attention, he very seldom 
stood in need of the physician's art or of medi- 
cine or external applications. He was most ready 
to give way without envy to those who possessed 
any particular faculty, such as that of eloquence or 
knowledge of the law or of morals, or of anything 
else ; and he gave them his help, that each might 
enjoy reputation according to his deserts ; and he 
always acted conformably to the institutions of his 



21 



MARCUS AURELIUS 



country, without showing any affectation of doing 
so. Further, he was not fond of change nor un- 
steady, but he loved to stay in the same places, 
and to employ himself about the same things ; and 
after his paroxysms of headache he came imme- 
diately fresh and vigorous to his usual occupa- 
tions. His secrets were not many, but very few 
and very rare, and these only about public mat- 
ters ; and he showed prudence and economy in the 
exhibition of the public spectacles and the con- 
struction of public buildings, his donations to the 
people, and in such things, for he was a man who 
looked to what ought to be done, not to the repu- 
tation which is got by a man's acts. He did not 
take the bath at unseasonable hours ; he was not 
fond of building houses, nor curious about what he 
ate, nor about the texture and color of his clothes, 
nor about the beauty of his slaves. There was in 
him nothing harsh, nor implacable, nor violent, 
nor, as one may say, anything carried to the sweat- 
ing point ; but he examined all things severally, as 
if he had abundance of time, and without confu- 
sion, in an orderly way, vigorously and consis- 



23 



MARCUS AURELIUS 



tently. And that might be applied to him which is 
recorded of Socrates, that he was able both to ab- 
stain from, and to enjoy, those things which many 
are too weak to abstain from, and cannot enjoy 
without excess. But to be strong enough both to 
bear the one and to be sober in the other is the 
mark of a man who has a perfect and invincible 
soul, such as he showed in the illness of Maximus. 
Book I, Section 16 



25 



MARCUS AURELIUS 



Noble Ideal 

We ought then to check in the series of our 
thoughts everything that is without a purpose and 
useless, but most of all the overcurious feeling and 
the malignant ; and a man should use himself to 
think of those things only about which if one 
should suddenly ask, What hast thou now in thy 
thoughts ? with perfect openness thou mightest im- 
mediately answer, This or That ; so that from thy 
words it should be plain that everything in thee is 
simple and benevolent, and such as befits a social 
animal, and one that cares not for thoughts about 
pleasure or sensual enjoyments at all, or any ri- 
valry or envy and suspicion, or anything else for 
which thou wouldst blush if thou shouldst say 
that thou hadst it in thy mind. For the man who 
is such as no longer to delay being among the 
number of the best, is like a priest and minister 
of the gods, using too the [deity] which is planted 
within him, which makes the man uncontaminated 
by pleasure, unharmed by any pain, untouched by 



•27 



MARCUS AURELIUS 



any insult, feeling no wrong, a fighter in the no- 
blest fight, one who cannot be overpowered by any 
passion, dyed deep with justice, accepting with all 
his soul everything which happens and is assigned 
to him as his portion. 

Book III, Section 4 



MARCUS AURELIUS 



One Substance: One Soul: 
One Intelligence 

A HERE is one light of the sun, though it is dis- 
tributed over walls, mountains, and other things 
infinite. There is one common substance, though it 
is distributed among countless bodies which have 
their several qualities. There is one soul, though it 
is distributed among infinite natures and individual 
circumscriptions [or individuals]. There is one in- 
telligent soul, though it seems to be divided. Now 
in the things which have been mentioned all the 
other parts, such as those which are air and sub- 
stance, are without sensation and have no fellow- 
ship : and yet even these parts the intelligent prin- 
ciple holds together and the gravitation towards 
the same. 

Book XII, Section 30 



31 



MARCUS AURELIUS 



Every Days Thoughts: 
Every Day's Work 

JjEGIN the morning by saying to thyself, I shall 
meet with the busybody, the ungrateful, arrogant, 
deceitful, envious, unsocial. All these things hap- 
pen to them by reason of their ignorance of what 
is good and evil. But I who have seen the nature 
of the good that it is beautiful, and of the bad that 
it is ugly, and the nature of him who does wrong, 
that it is akin to me, not [only] of the same blood 
or seed, but that it participates in [the same] intel- 
ligence and [the same] portion of the divinity, / can 
neither be injured by any of them, for no one can 
fix on me what is ugly, nor can I be angry with my 
kinsman, nor hate him. 

Book II, Section 1 

±N the morning when thou risest unwillingly, let 
this thought be present — I am rising to the work 
of a human being. Why then am I dissatisfied if I 
am going to do the things for which I exist and for 



33 



MARCUS AURELIUS 



which I was brought into the world ? Or have I been 
made for this, to lie in the bedclothes and keep 
myself warm? — But this is more pleasant — Dost 
thou exist then to take thy pleasure, and not at 
all for action or exertion ? 

Book V, Section 1 



35 



MARCUS AURELIUS 



To Be: To Do: Duty 

DO what thou hast in hand with perfect and sim- 
ple dignity, and feeling of affection, and freedom, 
and justice ; and to give thyself relief from all other 
thoughts. 

Book II, Section 5 

J UDGE every word and deed which is according 
to nature to be fit for thee ; and be not diverted by 
the blame which follows from any people nor by 
their words, but if a thing is good to be done or 
said, do not consider it unworthy of thee. 

Book V, Section 3 

ajET it make no difference to thee whether thou 
art cold or warm, if thou art doing thy duty ; and 
whether thou art drowsy or satisfied with sleep ; 
and whether ill-spoken of or praised ; and whether 
dying or doing something else. 

Book VI, Section 2 



3? 



MARCUS AURELIUS 



J. DO my duty: other things trouble me not; for 
they are either things without life, or things with- 
out reason, or things that have rambled and know 
not the way. 

Book VI, Section 22 
/ 

JM O longer talk about the kind of man that a good 
man ought to be, but be such. 

Book X, Section 16 

A.S those who try to stand in thy way when thou 
art proceeding according to right reason, will not 
be able to turn thee aside from thy proper action, 
so neither let them drive thee from thy benevolent 
feelings towards them, but be on thy guard equally 
in both matters, not only in the matter of steady 
judgment and action, but also in the matter of gen- 
tleness towards those who try to hinder or other- 
wise trouble thee. For this also is a weakness, to 
be vexed at them, as well as to be diverted from 
thy course of action and to give way through fear ; 
for both are equally deserters from their post, the 

39 



MARCUS AURELIUS 



man who does it through fear, and the man who is 
alienated from him who is by nature a kinsman and 
a friend. 

Book XI, Section 9 



U 



MARCUS AURELIUS 



Happiness 

IF thou workest at that which is before thee, fol- 
lowing right reason seriously, vigorously, calmly, 
without allowing anything else to distract thee, but 
keeping thy divine part pure, as if thou shouldest 
be bound to give it back immediately ; if thou hold- 
est to this, expecting nothing, fearing nothing, but 
satisfied with thy present activity according to na- 
ture, and with heroic truth in every word and sound 
which thou utterest, thou wilt live happy. And there 
is no man who is able to prevent this. 

Book III, Section 12 



43 



MARCUS AURELIUS 



Character 

SUCH as are thy habitual thoughts, such also 
will be the character of thy mind ; for the soul is 
dyed by the thoughts. 

Book V, Section 16 

SUPPOSE any man shall despise me. Let him 
look to that himself. But I will look to this, that I 
be not discovered doing or saying anything deserv- 
ing of contempt. Shall any man hate me ? Let him 
look to it. But I will be mild and benevolent to- 
wards every man and even to him, ready to show 
him his mistake, not reproachfully, nor yet as mak- 
ing a display of my endurance, but nobly and hon- 
estly, like the great Phocion, unless indeed he only 
assumed it. 

Book XI, Section 13 

HOW unsound and insincere is he who says, I 
have determined to deal with thee in a fair way. — 
What art thou doing, man ? There is no occasion 



45 



MARCUS AURELIUS 



to give this notice. It will soon show itself by acts. 
The voice ought to be plainly written on the fore- 
head. Such as a man's character is, he immediately 
shows it in his eyes, just as he who is beloved 
forthwith reads everything in the eyes of lovers. 
The man who is honest and good ought to be ex- 
actly like a man who smells strong, so that the 
bystander as soon as he comes near him must smell 
whether he choose or not. But the affectation of 
simplicity is like a crooked stick. Nothing is more 
disgraceful than a wolfish friendship [false friend- 
ship]. Avoid this most of all. The good and simple 
and benevolent show all these things in the eyes, 
and there is no mistaking. 

Book XI, Section 51 



47 



MARCUS AURELIUS 



Principle: Be Firm 

J3E like the promontory against which the waves 
continually break, but it stands firm and tames 
the fury of the water around it. 

Book IV, Section 49 



49 



MARCUS AURELIUS 



Perseverance 

Jt5E not disgusted, nor discouraged, nor dissatis- 
fied, if thou dost not succeed in doing everything 
according to right principles; but when thou hast 
failed, return back again, and be content if the 
greater part of what thou doest is consistent with 
man's nature. 

Book V, Section 9 



51 



MARCUS AURELIUS 



Pay Attention 

J.N discourse thou must attend to what is said, 
and in every movement thou must observe what 
is doing. And in the one thou shouldst see im- 
mediately to what end it refers, but in the other 
watch carefully what is the thing signified. 

Book VII, Section 4 

DlRECT thy attention to what is said. Let thy 
understanding enter into the things that are doing 
and the things which do them. 

Book VII, Section 30 



53 



MARCUS AURELIUS 



Be Definite in Purpose 

J\ ' longer wander at hazard; for neither wilt thou 
read thy own memoirs, nor the acts of the ancient 
Romans and Hellenes, and the selections from 
books which thou wast reserving for thy old age. 
Hasten then to the end which thou hast before 
thee, and, throwing away idle hopes, come to thy 
own aid, if thou carest at all for thyself, while it is 
in thy power. 

Book III, Section 14 

l^ET no act be done without a purpose", nor other- 
wise than according to the perfect principles of 
art. 

Book IV, Section 2 



55 



MARCUS AURELIUS 



Use Plain Language 

fePEAK both in the senate and to every man, 
whoever he may be, appropriately, not with any 
affectation : use plain discourse/ 

Book VIII, Section 30 



57 



MARCUS AURELIUS 



Modesty 

A.S a horse when he has run, a dog when he has 
tracked the game, a bee when it has made the 
honey, so a man when he has done a good act, 
does not call out for others to come and see, but he 
goes on to another act, as a vine goes on to pro- 
duce again the grapes in season. 

Book V, Section 6 



59 



MARCUS AURELIUS 



^ Self-Respect 

JNEVER value anything as profitable to thyself 
which shall compel thee to break thy promise, to 
lose thy self-respect, to hate any man, to suspect, 
to curse, to act the hypocrite. 

Book III, Section 7 



H] 



MARCUS AURELIUS 



Talkativeness 

IjABOR not unwillingly, nor without regard to 
the common interest, nor without due considera- 
tion, nor with distraction; nor let studied orna- 
ment set off thy thoughts, and be not either a man 
of many words, or busy about too many things. 

Book III, Section 5 



63 



MARCUS AURELIUS 



'Mind your own Busi?iess 

JNOTHING is more wretched than a man who 
traverses everything in a round, and pries into the 
things beneath the earth, as the poet says, and 
seeks by conjecture what is in the minds of his neigh- 
bors, without perceiving that it is sufficient to at- 
tend to the daemon within him, and to reverence 
it sincerely. 

Book II, Section 13 

JJO not waste the remainder of thy life in thoughts 
about others, when thou dost not refer thy thoughts 
to some object of common utility. 

Book III, Section 4 

JtlOW much trouble he avoids who does not look 
to see what his neighbor says or does or thinks. 

Book IV, Section 18 



65 



MARCUS AURELIUS 



Wealth 

XVECEIVE [wealth or prosperity] without arro- 
gance ; and be ready to let it go. 

Book VIII, Section 33 



67 



MARCUS AURELIUS 



Contentment 

JL HOU art an old man ; no longer let this be a 
slave, no longer be pulled by the strings like a 
puppet to unsocial movements, no longer be either 
dissatisfied with thy present lot, or shrink from the 
future. 

Book II, Section 2 

AND thou wilt give thyself relief, if thou doest 
every act of thy life as if it were the last, laying 
aside all carelessness and passionate aversion from 
the commands of reason, and all hypocrisy, and 
self-love, and discontent with the portion which 
has been given to thee. Thou seest how few the 
things are, the which if a man lays hold of, he is 
able to live a life which flows in quiet. 

Book II, Section 5 

±F then everything else is common to all that I 
have mentioned, there remains that which is pe- 



69 



MARCUS AURELIUS 



culiar to the good man, to be pleased and content 

with what happens, and with the thread which is 

spun for him. 

Book III, Section 16 

J-^OVE the art, poor as it may be, which thou hast 
learned, and be content with it; and pass through 
the rest of life like one who has intrusted to the 
gods with his whole soul all that he has, making 
thyself neither the tyrant nor the slave of any man. 
Book IV, Section 31 

J- HINK not so much of what thou hast not as of 
what thou hast : but of the things which thou hast 
select the best, and then reflect how eagerly they 
would have been sought, if thou hadst them not/ 
At the same time however take care that thou dost 
not through being so pleased with them accustom 
thyself to overvalue them, so as to be disturbed if 
ever thou shouldst not have them/ 

Book VII, Section 27 



71 



MARCUS AURELIUS 



W ILT thou then, my soul, never be good and 
simple and one and naked, more manifest than 
the body which surrounds thee ? Wilt thou never 
enjoy an affectionate and contented disposition? 
Wilt thou never be full and without a want of any 
kind, longing for nothing more, nor desiring any- 
thing either animate or inanimate for the enjoy- 
ment of pleasures ? nor yet desiring time wherein 
thou shalt have longer enjoyment, or place, or 
pleasant climate, or society of men with whom thou 
mayst live in harmony? but wilt thou be satisfied 
with thy present condition, and pleased with all 
that is about thee, and wilt thou convince thyself 
that thou hast everything and that it comes from 
the gods, that everything is well for thee and will 
be well whatever shall please them, and whatever 
they shall give for the conservation of the perfect 
living being, the good and just and beautiful, which 
generates and holds together all things, and con- 
tains and embraces all things which are dissolved 
for the production of other like things ? Wilt thou 
never be such that thou shalt so dwell in com- 



73 



MARCUS AURELIUS 



munity with gods and men as neither to find fault 
with them at all nor to be condemned by them ? 

Book X, Section 1 



75 



MARCUS AURELIUS 



Opinion: Judgment 

(the "within" controls) 

A AKE away thy opinion, and then there is taken 
away the complaint, "I have been harmed." Take 
away the complaint, "I have been harmed," and 
the harm is taken away. 

Book IV, Section 7 

W HAT is evil to thee does not subsist in the ruling 
principle of another ; nor yet in any turning and 
mutation of thy corporeal covering. Where is it 
then? It is in that part of thee in which subsists 
the power of forming opinions about evils. Let this 
power then not form [such] opinions, and all is 
well. And if that which is nearest to it, the poor 
body, is cut, burnt, filled with matter and rotten- 
ness, nevertheless let the part which forms opin- 
ions about these things be quiet, that is, let it judge 
that nothing is either bad or good which can hap- 
pen equally to the bad man and the good. 

Book IV, Section 39 



77 



MARCUS AURELIUS 



JjET the part of thy soul which leads and governs 
be undisturbed by the movements in the flesh 
whether of pleasure or of pain ; and let it not unite 
with them, but let it circumscribe itself and limit 
those affects to their parts. 

Book V, Section 26 

X AIN is either an evil to the body — then let the 
body say what it thinks of it — or to the soul; but 
it is in the power of the soul to maintain its own 
serenity and tranquillity, and not to think that 
pain is an evil. For every judgment and move- 
ment and desire and aversion is within, and no 
evil ascends so high. 

Book VIII, Section 28 

W IPE out thy imaginations by often saying to 

thyself: now it is in my power to let no badness be 

in this soul, nor desire nor any perturbation at all. 

Book VIII, Section 29 



19 



MARCUS AURELIUS 

JL O-DAY I have got out of all trouble, or rather 
I have cast out all trouble, for it was not outside, 
but within and in my opinions. 

Book IX, Section 13 

J.F the things do not come to thee, the pursuits 
and avoidances of which disturb thee, still in a 
manner thou goest to them. Let then thy judg- 
ment about them be at rest, and they will remain 
quiet, and thou wilt not be seen either pursuing or 
avoiding. 

Book XI, Section 11 

J.T is not men's acts which disturb us, for those 
acts have their foundation in men's ruling princi- 
ples, but it is our own opinions which disturb us. 
Take away these opinions then, and resolve to 
dismiss thy judgment about an act as if it were 
something grievous, and thy anger is gone. 

Book XI, Section 18 



81 



MARCUS AURELIUS 



Let not "External Things" 
affect You 

\JO the things external which fall upon thee dis- 
tract thee? Give thyself time to learn something 
new and good, and cease to be whirled around. 

Book II, Section 7 

X HIS then remains : Remember to retire into 

this little territory of thy own, and above all do 

not distract or strain thyself y but be free, and look 

at things as a man, as a human being, as a citizen, 

as a mortal. But among the things readiest to thy 

hand to which thou shalt turn, let there be these, 

which are two. One is that things do not touch the 

soul, for they are external and remain immovable ; 

but our perturbations come only from the opinion 

which is within. 

Book IV, Section 3 

JL HOU wilt soon die, and thou art not yet simple, 
nor free from perturbations, nor without suspicion 

83 



MARCUS AURELIUS 



of being hurt by external things, nor kindly disposed 

towards all ; nor dost thou yet place wisdom only 

in acting justly. 

Book IV, Section 37 

1 HINGS themselves touch not the soul, not in the 
least degree; nor have they admission to the soul, 
nor can they turn or move the soul : but the soul 
turns and moves itself alone, and whatever judg- 
ments it may think proper to make, such it makes 
for itself the things which present themselves to it. 

Book V, Section 19 

JuET there fall externally what will on the parts 

which can feel the effects of this fall. For those 

parts which have felt will complain, if they choose. 

But I, unless I think that what has happened is an 

evil, am not injured. And it is in my power not to 

think so. 

Book VII, Section 14 

IF thou art pained by any external thing, it is not 
this thing that disturbs thee, but thy own judgment 



85 



MARCUS AURELIUS 



about it. And it is in thy power to wipe out this 
judgment now. But if anything in thy own disposi- 
tion gives thee pain, who hinders thee from cor- 
recting thy opinion ? And even if thou art pained 
because thou art not doing some particular thing 
which seems to thee to be right, why dost thou 
not rather act than complain? 

Book VIII, Section 47 



87 



MARCUS AURELIUS 



'Retire into Thyself 

IF thou findest in human life anything better 
than justice, truth, temperance, fortitude, and, in a 
word, anything better than thy own mind's self- 
satisfaction in the things which it enables thee to 
do according to right reason, and in the condition 
that is assigned to thee without thy own choice; 
if, I say, thou seest anything better than this, turn 
to it with all thy soul, and enjoy that which thou 

hast found to be the best. 

Book III, Section 6 

JjaEN seek retreats for themselves, houses in the 
country, sea-shores, and mountains ; and thou too 
art wont to desire such things very much. But this 
is altogether a mark of the most common sort of 
men, for it is in thy power whenever thou shalt choose 
to retire into thyself. For nowhere either with more 
quiet or more freedom from trouble does a man 
retire than into his own soul, particularly when he 
has within him such thoughts that by looking into 



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them he is immediately in perfect tranquillity ; and 
I affirm that tranquillity is nothing else than the 
good ordering of the mind. 

Book IV, Section 3 

HE TIRE into thyself. The rational principle which 
rules has this nature, that it is content with itself 
when it does what is just, and so secures tran- 
quillity. 



Book VII, Section 28 



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MARCUS AURELIUS 



Tranquillity 

OCCUPY thyself with few things, says the phi- 
losopher, if thou wouldst be tranquil. — But consider 
if it would not be better to say, Do what is neces- 
sary, and whatever the reason of the animal which 
is naturally social requires, and as it requires. For 
this brings not only the tranquillity which comes 
from doing well, but also that which comes from 
doing few things. 

Book IV, Section 24 



JtxOW easy it is to repel and to wipe away every 
impression which is troublesome or unsuitable, and 
immediately to be in all tranquillity. 

Book V, Section 2 

YV HEN thou hast been compelled by circum- 
stances to be disturbed in a manner, quickly return 
to thyself and do not continue out of tune longer 

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than the compulsion lasts ; for thou wilt have more 
mastery over the harmony by continually recurring 
to it. 

Book VI, Section 11 



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MARCUS AURELIUS 



Avoid Trouble 

AN the gymnastic exercises suppose that a man 
has torn thee with his nails, and by dashing against 
thy head has inflicted a wound. Well, we neither 
show any signs of vexation, nor are we offended, nor 
do we suspect him afterwards as a treacherous 
fellow ; and yet we are on our guard against him, 
not however as an enemy, nor yet with suspicion, 
but we quietly get out of his way. Something like 
this let thy behavior be in all the other parts of 
life ; let us overlook many things in those who are 
like antagonists in the gymnasium. For it is in our 
'power, as I said, to get out of the way, and to have 
no suspicion nor hatred. 

Book VI, Sectiox 20 



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MARCUS AURELIUS 



Folly of Complaining 

A CUCUMBER is bitter— Throw it away.— 
There are briers in the road — Turn aside from 
them. — This is enough. Do not add, And why were 
such things made in the world? 

Book VIII, Section 50 



99 

LofC. 



MARCUS AURELIUS 



Leisure 

1 HOU hast not leisure [or ability] to read. But 
thou hast leisure [or ability] to check arrogance : 
thou hast leisure to be superior to pleasure and 
pain : thou hast leisure to be superior to love of 
fame, and not to be vexed at stupid and ungrate- 
ful people, nay even to care for them. 

Book VIII, Section 8 



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Praise and Blame 

EVERYTHING which is in any way beautiful 

is beautiful in itself, and terminates in itself, not 

/ 
having praise as part of itself. Neither worse then 

» 
nor better is a thing made by being praised. I affirm 

this also of the things which are called beautiful 

by the vulgar, for example, material things and 

works of art. That which is really beautiful has no 

need of anything; not more than law, not more 

than truth, not more than benevolence or modesty. 

Which of these things is beautiful because it is 

praised, or spoiled by being blamed? Is such a 

thing as an emerald made worse than it was, if it 

is not praised ? or gold, ivory, purple, a lyre, a little 

knife, a flower, a shrub ? 

Book IV, Section 20 

r 



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Strength to Bear Ills 

iV OTHING happens to any man which he is not 

formed by nature to bear. The same things happen 

to another, and either because he does not see that 

they have happened or because he would show a 

great spirit he is firm and remains unharmed. It 

is a shame then that ignorance and conceit should 

be stronger than wisdom. 

Book V, Section 18 

JjjVERYTHING which happens either happens 
in such wise that thou art formed by nature to 
bear it, or that thou art not formed by nature to 
bear it. If then it happens to thee in such way 
that thou art formed by nature to bear it, do not 
complain, but bear it as thou art formed by nature 
to bear it. But if it happens in such wise that thou 
art not able to bear it, do not complain, for it will 
perish after it has consumed thee. Remember how- 
ever that thou art formed by nature to bear every- 
thing, with respect to which it depends on thy own 



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opinion to make it endurable and tolerable, by 

thinking that it is either thy interest or thy duty 

to do this. 

Book X, Section 3 



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MARCUS AURELIUS 



Pain 

U NHAPPY am I, because this has happened to 
me — Not so, but Happy am I, though this has 
happened to me, because I continue free from 
pain, neither crushed by the present nor fearing 
the future. For such a thing as this might have 
happened to every man ; but every man would not 
have continued free from pain on such an occasion. 
Book IV, Section 49 

CONSIDER how much more pain is brought on 
us by the anger and vexation caused by such acts 
than by the acts themselves, at which we are 
angry and vexed. . . . For in the same degree in 
which a man's mind is nearer to freedom from all 
passion, in the same degree also is it nearer to 
strength : and as the sense of pain is a character- 
istic of weakness, so also is anger. For he who 
yields to pain and he vriio yields to anger, both are 
v)ounded and both submit. 

Book XI, Section 18 



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Ambition: Fame 

J>UT perhaps the desire of the thing called fame 
will torment thee — See how soon everything is for- 
gotten, and look at the chaos of infinite time on 
each side of [the present], and the emptiness of 
applause, and the changeableness and want of 
judgment in those who pretend to give praise, 
and the narrowness of the space within which it 
is circumscribed [and be quiet at last]. For the 
whole earth is a point, and how small a nook in it 
is this thy dwelling, and how few are there in it, 
'and what kind of people are they who will praise 

thee. 7 

Book IV, Section 3 

' XXE who has a vehement desire for posthumous 
fame does not consider that every one of those 
who remember him will himself also die very soon ; 
then again also they who have succeeded them, 
until the whole remembrance shall have been ex- 
tinguished as it is transmitted through men who 



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foolishly admire and perish. But suppose that those 
who will remember are even immortal, and that 
the remembrance will be immortal, what then is 
this to thee? And I say not what is it to the dead, 
but what is it to the living. 

Book IV, Section 19 



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Anger with Others 

A.RT thou angry with him whose arm-pits stink? 
art thou angry with him whose mouth smells fouU 
What good will this anger do thee ? He has such a 
mouth, he has such arm-pits : it is necessary that 
such an emanation must come from such things — 
But the man has reason, it will be said, and he is 
able, if he takes pains, to discover wherein he 
offends — / wish thee well of thy discovery. Well 
then, and thou hast reason : by thy rational faculty 
stir up his rational faculty ; show him his error, ad- 
monish him. For if he listens, thou wilt cure him, 
and there is no need of anger. 

Book V, Section 28 



15 



MARCUS AURELIUS 



Harmony with Good 

W HAT kind of things those are which appear 
good to the many, we may learn from this. For if 
any man should conceive certain things as being 
really good, such as prudence, temperance, jus- 
tice, fortitude, he would not after having first con- 
ceived these endure to listen to anything which 
should not be in harmony with what is really good. 

Book V, Section 12 



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MARCUS AURELIUS 



Right and Wrong 

U.AST thou seen those things ? Look also at these. 

Do not disturb thyself. Make thyself all simplicity. 

Does any one do wrong ? It is to himself that he does 

the wrong. 

Book IV, Section 26 

A HE best way of avenging thyself is not to be- 
come like the wrong doer. 

Book VI, Section 6 

IF any man is able to convince me and show me 

that I do not think or act right, I will gladly 

change ; for I seek the truth by which no man was 

ever injured. But he is injured who abides in his 

error and ignorance. 

Book VI, Section 21 

XXE who does wrong does wrong against himself. 
He who acts unjustly acts unjustly to himself, be- 
cause he makes himself bad. 

Book IX, Section 4 



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J.F a man is mistaken, instruct him kindly and 
show him his error. But if thou art not able, blame 
thyself, or blame not even thyself. 

Book X, Section 4 

IF it is not right, do not do it : if it is not true, 

do not say it. 

Book XII, Section 17 



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Love your Enemies 

AT is peculiar to man to love even those who do 
wrong. And this happens, if when they do wrong 
it occurs to thee that they are kinsmen, and that 
they do wrong through ignorance and uninten- 
tionally, and that soon both of you will die ; and 
above all, that the wrong doer has done thee no 
harm, for he has not made thy ruling faculty 
worse than it was before. 

Book VII, Section 22 



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MARCUS AURELIUS 



Philosophy 

W HAT then is that which is able to conduct a 
man? One thing and only one, philosophy. But 
this consists in keeping the daemon within a man 
free from violence and unharmed, superior to pains 
and pleasures, doing nothing without a purpose, nor 
yet falsely and with hypocrisy, not feeling the need 
of another man's doing or not doing anything ; and 
besides, accepting all that happens, and all that is 
allotted, as coming from thence, wherever it is, 
from whence he himself came. 

Book II, Section 17 

-DUT on the contrary it is a man's duty to com- 
fort himself, and to wait for the natural dissolu- 
tion and not to be vexed at the delay, but to rest 
in these principles only : the one, that nothing wih 
happen to me which is not conformable to the 
nature of the universe; and the other, that it is 
in my power never to act contrary to my god and 



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MARCUS AURELIUS 



dasmon : for there is no man who will compel me 
to this. 

Book V. Section 10 



THE END 



127 



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190* 



APR 12 1902 



